When Team Canada announced that Duncan Keith’s knee injury would prevent him from attending the World Cup of Hockey in September, many P.K. Subban fans held their breath with the hopes that the flashy defenseman would get the nod.
Jay Bouwmeester was instead selected as a replacement to fill in for Keith, and evidently many are not too pleased with this decision. However, it’s important to understand why Subban was overlooked.
Right-Hand Shots
Firstly, Team Canada’s management has opted to strike a healthy balance between left- and right-handed defensemen so as to not unnecessarily force a player to play in a position he might not otherwise be as comfortable in. This explains why Kris Letang, also a right-hand shot, was snubbed. While Subban has demonstrated that he’s comfortable on the left point, note that it was especially during the man advantage or off of an offensive-zone faceoff that he’d switch over to his weaker left side:
In the above clip, the first and third goals reflect precisely that during a power play.
The second play was similar to a man advantage in that #25 Max Talbot, then Colorado’s forward, is playing without a stick. Finally, the fifth goal is off of a faceoff to the left of the opposing goalie, where right-hand defensemen have an easier time shooting on net.
Here’s but one example of Letang pulling off a similar feat:
Lafleur Speaks Regarding Subban
In case you missed it, Guy Lafleur has once again offered his take on P.K. Subban.
Lafleur told TVA Sports that it’s not a matter of skill or talent but rather, “cliques” in international management have essentially placed Subban on a “black list” of sorts.
I’m not sure from where Lafleur gets his information, but I’m hard-pressed into thinking that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Team Canada’s decision makers clearly have some sort of vendetta against Subban or, at the very least, don’t feel like his personality or attitude is in sync with that of his (potential) teammates’.
Defensive Liability
With a league-worst 106 giveaways to his name in 14 less games played than the second-worst, Subban has a lot of work to do in his own zone. I don’t need to remind you all that he likes to carry the puck and, granted, the more you have the puck on your stick the more often you’ll give it away. A conservative unit such as Team Canada’s will want to stick to basic, simple transitions out of the zone as opposed to having someone like Subban try to do it all by himself, as we’ve seen quite frequently with the Canadiens.
Bouwmeester only had 30 giveaways last season, and so once again, Subban’s name was most likely not even mentioned during the discussions.
With that in mind, it’s clear that no right-handed defenseman was going to replace the left-handed Keith. Jay Bouwmeester seemed like the sensible, stay-at-home choice. Not one to ever light up the score sheet and at 6’4”, his size is in line with the rest of the blue-liners.
I wonder, however, why Mark Giordano was not selected. The Calgary Flames’ captain, a Toronto ON native, seemed to be on his way towards his first-ever Norris Trophy. His 56 points, including 21 goals in 82 games are quite impressive numbers that have personally left me scratching my head. Perhaps Team Canada is aiming for a little more steadiness on the back end, hence why Bouwmeester got the call.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»